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Coughlin Betke attorneys Andy Ferguson and Matt Lynch recently obtained summary judgment in Massachusetts Superior Court on behalf of a Massachusetts insurance agency. Plaintiff claimed that the insurance agency failed to properly procure general liability insurance for a landlord’s rental property and/or failed to advise the landlord that by allowing his personal homeowner’s insurance to expire, he no longer had general liability insurance covering the rental property. Plaintiff, a tenant at the rental property, was then injured when she fell down a set of stairs. Because the landlord did not have insurance for the rental premises, the landlord agreed with Plaintiff to an entry of judgment and assigned his purported claims against his insurance agency to Plaintiff.

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In her lawsuit, Plaintiff asserted claims of (1) negligence, (2) breach of contract, and (3) negligent representation against the insurance agency. Through discovery, Coughlin Betke established that (1) the insurance agency properly informed the landlord of the effect of allowing his personal homeowner’s insurance to expire; (2) no special circumstances existed between the insurance agency and landlord, meaning the agency did not have an ongoing duty to ensure the landlord’s rental property was covered; (3) the insurance agency satisfied every duty owed to the landlord; and (4) the insurance agency neither breached any alleged contract nor made any misrepresentation of material fact. Coughlin Betke also established that Plaintiff had not proffered the required expert testimony to support her claims.   As a result, the court entered summary judgment in favor of the insurance agency and dismissed all of Plaintiff’s claims as a matter of law.

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If you have any questions or issues concerning insurance agencies and the requisite standard of care owed to customers, please contact Andy Ferguson.